Teacher of the Year: Kathy Perkins

Kathy Perkins, a first grade teacher at Burns Valley School in Konocti Unified School District, has been selected as the 2014-15 Lake County Teacher of the Year, announced Tim Gill, Senior Director of Educational Services at Lake County Office of Education. Perkins will represent Lake County in the upcoming California Teacher of the Year competition. Burns School is on Pine Street in Clearlake.

Perkins holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from CSU Sonoma in Liberal Arts. She has been teaching for 23 years, the past eight at Burns Valley where her current project is the Little Free Library. The Little Library is home to books that can be taken home by children and families. The books can then be kept, returned or replaced by other books.

“Getting books into the hands of the children of our community is the key to the project. I feel good about being able to infuse literacy and reading into our community with this project,” Perkins said.

Chris Schoeneman, Principal of Burns Valley School, says “Mrs. Kathy Perkins is an instrumental member of the Burns Valley School team. She approaches teaching with a student-centered mindset that focuses on each individual child and what they need to be successful in their learning. A constant professional, Mrs. Perkins strives to see achievement in both her classroom and in her school. It is with this perspective that she has become a grade-level, school-level, and district-level leader. Her compassion for the under-privileged, enthusiasm for exploring new ideas, calmness in the face of adversity, dedication to her craft, thoughtfulness of others, brilliance in her creativity and design, and great sense of humor are all gifts she brings to work every day. She puts others first and strives to see a better world abound for our students, staff members, families and our community.”

Each year the school districts in the county select one exemplary teacher as their District Teacher of the Year. A committee of community leaders then interviews these candidates. The criteria for selection of the County Teacher of the Year is based upon the state and national requirements, which include professional development activities, commitment to the improvement of the educational system, personal attributes, creativity and ability to communicate ideas effectively, and professional skills in delivering curriculum and instruction to students. This year’s selection committee members were Pamela Bordisso, Tim Gill, Nyla Norris, Jo Bennett and the Lake County Teacher of the Year for 2013-14, Erica Boomer.

Perkins and the District Teachers of the Year will be honored for their exceptional achievement at an event this fall. For more information on the upcoming award ceremony, please contact Shelly Mascari at the Lake County Office of Education, smascari@lakecoe.org.